Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed three "existential threats" he believes currently face humanity during a recent interview with Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Insider's parent company, Axel Springer. The richest man in the world said he fears religious extremism, a declining birthrate, and "artificial intelligence going wrong." Death, however, did not make his list. "I spent a lot of time talking about the birthrate thing," Musk said. "That might be the single biggest threat to the future of human civilization."

Japan is seeking to boost its flagging birthrate by funding the use of artificial intelligence to help match lonely hearts, an official said Monday. Although it might not conjure thoughts of romance, AI tech can match a wider and smarter range of potential suitors, the cabinet official told AFP. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government plans to allocate two billion yen ($19 million) in the next fiscal year to back local authorities that run schemes to help their residents find love, he said. Around half of the nation's 47 prefectures offer matchmaking services and some of them have already introduced AI systems, according to the cabinet office. The human-run matchmaking services often use standardised forms to list people's interests and hobbies, and AI systems can perform more advanced analysis of this data.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Alibaba founder and Chairman Jack Ma kicked off the 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China, with an informal debate about AI and its implications to humanity. Throughout their conversation, Musk and Ma touched on several topics, from jobs, the need for educational reform, moving to Mars, and how humans' way of life can improve in the future. The two billionaires have vastly differing points of view concerning artificial intelligence. While Musk is cautious about AI considering the dangers it may pose to humanity, Ma is far more optimistic. "I don't think AI is a threat," Ma said, responding to the Tesla CEO's introductory points.

TAIPEI – Between 2012 and 2018, Taiwanese authorities closed 594 schools islandwide. They also cut thousands of classes at the remaining schools and reduced the hiring of new teachers. All were steps taken in response to an ongoing fall in enrollments -- approximately 100,000 fewer students per year during that period. The drop is the result of Taiwan's declining birthrate, with women today bearing an average of 1.06 children, far below the 2.1 replacement rate needed to maintain the population. Beyond empty schools, such a decline spells trouble across the social and economic map, especially as Taiwanese are living significantly longer than in the past, with projections suggesting that by 2065 there will be one working-age adult for every retiree.